Nursing those in need
A job that few can do
Sitting by a lamp
To share a yarn or two
Soothing fevered brows
Caring for the sick
A newborn’s lusty cry
Make our nurses tick
Our nurses do us proud
Since Australia came to be
Serving both in peacetime
Or in wars across the sea
Diligent on duty
In many fields of care
Earning great respect
No matter when, or where
Then came another war
Different from the last
Battles edging closer
Advancing way too fast
An unfamiliar foe
Lethal with a gun
Unfurling flags of terror
That showed a Rising Sun
Danger all around
No longer safe to stay
Aboard the Vyner Brooke
They tried to sail away
Bombs fell, the vessel sank
But hope was just in reach
Those that could, hoped they would
Land on Radji Beach
An island paradise?
Perhaps in better times
Now a sickening scene
Of heinous, wicked crimes
A tyranny of horror
Waiting to unfold
What our nurses suffered
Was never fully told
Courage to the end
Stoic and strong-willed
Forced into the water
Machine-gunned and were killed
When all the firing ceased
No one would survive
Except for one alone
Who was very much alive
Sand wore her heavy steps
A weary, wounded tread
Across a beach of sorrow
Her fellow sisters dead
Waves then gently lapped
Where their bodies lay
Washed away the blood
And swept them all away
Many years have passed
Since these dreadful crimes
It’s now a tranquil beach
A reminder of those times
Their resting place unknown
Somewhere out to sea
We’ll not forget our nurses
Wherever they may be.